Serbian-American writer Ana Mitrić joins me to discuss the latest entry in my Tennis 128, Goran Ivanišević. Ana was a Goran fan even before she took a broader interest in tennis, and she is particularly sensitive to how the breakup of the former Yugoslavia affected players on all sides of the conflict.
We talk about the state of Yugoslav tennis before the wars, Goran’s status in his native Croatia, and how his attitude to the conflict differed from older players. We also discuss how Ivanišević attracted so many fans despite a one-dimensional game that was often boring in less-mercurial hands, why his outspokenness didn’t seem to turn people off, and what he now brings to Team Djoković.
Thanks for listening!
(Note: this episode is about 69 minutes long; in some browsers the audio player may display a different length. Sorry about that!)
Click to listen, subscribe on iTunes, or use the feed to get updates on your favorite podcast software.
Music: Everyone Has Gone Home by texasradiofish (c) copyright 2020. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license. Ft: spinningmerkaba
